How to design the perfect low maintenance garden

With gardens, as with life: you get out what you put in - here at Hardy Landscaping we receive requests for low-maintenance garden’s all the time. Although there is no such thing as a no-maintenance garden, there certainly is a low maintenance garden - and by following some simple steps we can help in maximising the time you have to enjoy your beautiful outdoor space whilst reducing the effort in creating and maintaining it.

Plan smart

Plainly, there are just many types of plants and gardens that do not suit a household with minimal time or motivation to spend their weekends out in the garden, and if you don’t thoroughly enjoy the time in the garden, selecting the wrong plants will have detrimental effects on the entire experience. When designing a low maintenance garden, you want to select plants that will thrive in their environments, as we have such diverse environments in the Territory – you want to select plants that are hardy and resilient and will thrive in your specific area. Also, be sure to select plants with similar feeding and watering requirements as this will reduce the amount of physical and mental effort required to keep the garden looking great.

Work smarter, not harder

By giving the garden a little bit of thought and planning, and every once in a while a bit of elbow grease – you can really reduce the amount of work required to maintain the appearance of the garden. Ideally, a low maintenance garden is one you do not need the hassle of watering – an irrigation system with an automated timer is a must have for any low maintenance garden. Pairing an irrigation system with a high-quality layer of mulch will, not only increase the required time between watering, it will also combat the weeds.

Strike a balance

There is no one size fits all, when designing a garden – take some time to consider what you like doing: love mowing the lawn and having access to fresh herbs, but hate pruning – give yourself a nice lawn and a veggie patch but avoid summer-blooming trees, shrubs and rose bushes. Do the benefits of shade and shelter that a large deciduous tree provides outweigh the nuisance of raking the leaves come autumn? Consider what you enjoy doing and let this guide your planting and design decisions.

Finally, learn to love the process, a little garden maintenance is not such a bad thing and the benefits far outweigh the negatives – although if it is all a little too much feel free to contact Hardy Landscaping for your landscaping needs.